Getting Anxious

So I find out Sunday, tomorrow, when I can go and see the Aussie pups next week. I must admit, I don't like the whole sitting and waiting thing. I'm essentially waiting for two e-mails, one I know won't be here for another day, the other...I have no idea, but all this while I've been thinking and wondering how these pups might be and what I will do if they're not what I'm looking for. I'm getting antsy. Big time.

But, there's not a whole hell of a lot I can do...

For all I know they could both be nervous, timid socialization projects waiting for the right hands; or, on the other hand, one of them could be naturally confident and curious and a good candidate for what I'm looking for. It's a complete crapshoot, and I'll be honest, I'm eager to find out which it is so I can move forward with this or figure out where to go from here.

I'm still perusing Craigslist (I mean, what else am I gonna do?). Haven't really found much that fits (though there is an ACD not far from here, but I know my ma will say no to him: he sounds like a typical ACD and the way it's worded...yea, no way of getting a yes). There's been an organization posting ads up here for a high-kill shelter in Elizabethtown, NC; I'll admit, I perused their Petfinder and Dogs in Danger postings. Didn't really find a great deal: a lot of puppies, a few seniors, several hounds, quite a few nervous and scared dogs. The organization looks to be maintaining both sites, and they say there is no guarantee on health or temperament or anything.

That said...this girl caught my attention right away: she looks to be a German Shepherd-Australian Shepherd-mix. This guy caught my attention too, but not really sure why...

I know, however, that because of what I'm looking for and the stipulations I have placed on me on top of that, going the "Dogs in Danger" route is not the best of ideas unless a rescue were to pull one and I got a chance to foster first. The organization does transport, but I don't think they're a rescue so much as a network for the animals in that shelter (lots of cats, too: I could only look at a few of them -- for some reason I have a harder time looking at cats and kittens in places like that than I do dogs...perhaps because they have an even lesser chance of making it out? whatever it is, it makes me sick and sad to see them). I believe both of those dogs only have a couple of days...

In other news...in preparation for going to see the Aussie pups I cleaned out my Jeep a bit yesterday (because it needed it: bad). It could still use some cleaning, but most of what I have in there now I don't have a place to put it in my room. I've been thinking again, once I have more consistent money coming in (and enough of it), of getting a storage unit: I have a fair amount of stuff that could go in there. In the meantime, I plan on taking my truck to go and get it vacuumed out today.

Yesterday I also got the K-9 Joggers I ordered! About four days earlier than the estimated time of delivery, if I recall right. They look pretty snazzy, and Jin certainly seemed curious and even a bit excited seeing them. I'll be installing one on my bike today, and hopefully get Jin accustomed to it today as well. I woke up at nine-something and it was still cool so I decided to try and get her to go for a walk: no go. Tried both the front and back door and she'd look outside, then sit down and refuse. *Sighs* Beyond picking her up and carrying her outside, or trying to walk Sasha and her at the same time, by myself (with a knee that still isn't quite up to 100%), I don't know of much I can do when she's like that. Hopefully with a K-9 Jogger she'll be more willing to actually go out...

Updates: Second Dog

I haven't managed to find the boxes that I need to start nosework, so that entry is pending. There are further developments in the Satan's Horse saga, but I have to upload the photos yet; I think we're in the slow, torturous stages...perhaps Jin's actually interrogating the beast? Only time will tell...

In the meantime, there's been some developments in the search for a second dog (aside from several moments of overthinking and even a little bit of stepping back to think).

I had thought that, maybe, I had found the dog I was looking for in Binghamton (about an hour away). She was definitely a German Shepherd Dog-mix (quite possibly a bit of Australian Cattle Dog as well), approximately a year old, an active dog looking for an active owner. Potentially perfect, right? Well, wasn't meant to be. She was adopted Monday morning: I didn't see her soon enough.

There's been an Australian Cattle Dog-mix in Danville I've been keeping my eye on, but haven't e-mailed about since I haven't been sure how to approach the possibility of convincing my ma on an ACD-mix. I've brought it up with her, but now I don't know if he's still at Danville or not. His Petfinder page is still up, but not his Petango page.

I have a few other dogs bookmarked, but half the time I don't know what to think or how to feel...I think I'm hooked by and caught up on, even subconsciously, ACDs too much. I know they're likely to be exactly what I'm looking for, and I absolutely adore the breed, I really do. So...I guess I'm having a harder time letting go of the idea than I thought.

Recently, on Craigslist, I found an almost 6-month-old Australian Shepherd pup (well, two actually): black tris, which, I'll admit, along with a black bi is my favorite color in a lot of the herding breeds. They don't come from the greatest breeder (Thompson's Australian Shepherds in Kentucky), but I've followed links for dogs from previous litters and I've read their comments page and it sounds like they're producing dogs with some good drive, some even work livestock. They're house-trained, crate-trained, have been raised around children, dogs, cats, and horses, but...it doesn't sound like they've been socialized a great deal outside of the home, with people or places.

That's my biggest concern. I really am not looking for a second behavior project: I want a training partner. I don't want to socialize a dog beyond what is normal for the age and breed, not to mention I like bringing my dogs with me, and with the plans I have it's not just that I want a confident, well-adjusted dog, but I need one. I can't settle for less than what I'm looking for, because that's the dog I need, and I don't plan on it either.

I can't see them until next week (today was the only day this week I could have, but I wasn't able to). The more I'm thinking of it, however, the more I'm thinking of taking up an offer to foster-to-adopt dogs. That way there's not the pressure to get it right the first time and I can try a dog before making a decision and see if it really is what I'm looking for: if not, I just pass that info on and we look for the right home for that dog, and look for the next possibility. That way the overthinking is eliminated, and my vested interests are no longer a detriment to the figuring process.

I think I might go and see the Aussie pups, just to be sure (and in the meantime try and see if I can come up with a way to see how they are in new situations), but if they prove to not be what I'm looking for, then I suppose I'll have to decide whether to foster-to-adopt or keep looking and e-mailing.

Satan's Horse

So, I bought a toy that I got distracted by and was playing with all through Tops (I also bought some braunschweiger, but I'll get to that in tomorrow's post), he's a dog toy, and I learned once I had him home that he's supposed to be a horse. Well, he has cloven hooves...which a friend helped me to realize meant he was clearly Satan's horse: hence his name, Satan's Horse. Combined with his "ungodly colour" (to borrow her words) and apparently Jin's intense interest in him as well, there is no doubt that he is, indeed, the Devil's minion.

But no fear! For, you see, my dog is apparently very religious and has taken to savagely exorcising this demon by way of slaughter: yes, her own Inquisition.

He's currently safely neutralized, as you can see in this picture:

This is Jin lying on her handiwork thus far, though I fear for this Devil's minion that the exorcism is just beginning.

As she takes a break (exorcism is hard, tiring work, after all) she lays on the carcass to ensure that he does not escape, prolonging the process while guaranteeing he neither returns to the safety of Hell nor manages to escape and continue with the work he was sent to do. Even if he were to manage an escape, however, Jin is quite the holy strategist, as is evidenced by this pic showing the damage which was wrought upon this beast:

In the center there is one of his hoofhands amongst some of his stuffing. As you can see, a large portion of his face has been torn off, as well as both of his eyes and arms. Some of the rest of those parts are in this picture:

Finally, here is a complete view of the carnage:

What I have not yet mentioned is that this demon once had a voicebox as well, which Jin was sure to tear apart and rip from his throat to keep him from spreading Satan's word; similarly, she also diverted her attention from ripping apart his body to get at the heart (or blackhole) of the beast in order to tear away the Devil's Scripture once she found it upon his body. She has made sure that this minion will not be spreading the words of Satan in his lifetime. If you notice those yellow pieces: those are the remnants of his voicebox.

She also made quick and easy work of removing this beast's brains. Clearly Jin knows very well what she is doing and how best to execute her holy orders.

A Bit of Info, And a Bit of Figuring

I always figure the first post ought to have a bit of an intro, because it just seems weird to just jump into life at the moment with nothing to lead into it. Anyways, I'm a 21-year-old guy (22 this coming July) with a Jeep that needs some work, but is running, and a 6-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer-Boxer-Pit Bull-mix I adopted about five years ago from a nearby SPCA. She's my first dog who's truly mine, and she's my baby. I've learned a lot from and with her over the years, much of it behavior (and she's come a long way in that time), and I'm hoping to be able to put it to use through a career as an Animal Behaviorist and Animal Trainer...just need to get my foot in the door to get on the right path to such a goal.

Just recently I finally convinced my mother (yes, still living with the folks: I tried moving out late last year/early this year -- to put it briefly: it didn't work out) to allow me a second dog, but she has to approve it so it's really a huge, ongoing compromise. I'm doing my damnedest to work within that compromise though, even if it's not easy...

Which brings me to the figuring part of this post. Pending a response on whether my ma might possibly consider the right Australian Cattle Dog-mix, I've been taking a look at and trying to figure out how I feel about a small red Pit Bull girl at the SPCA (same one I got my current dog, Jin, from). Now, don't get me wrong, she is a great dog, I'm just trying to figure out if she's what I'm looking for...

She's ridiculously sweet and affection (though a bit...exuberant...in that department) and absolutely adores attention, especially belly rubs. I've messed with her tails, ears, face, lips, nose, touched most of her body really and she hardly cares: it's attention. She seems she could have good promise as far as obedience, at the very least the basics, and she seems she could have tracking potential. I've seen her twice and the second time we found a toy she likes, because she thinks it's cool she can squeak it herself: she goes after it full-tilt, and even actually brought it to me a few times, haha. She doesn't, however, seem very toy-motivated...

Any time she sees a dog out and about she wants to play with them and, being young, about a year and a half, she's very much puppy exuberant about it and seems disappointed when they walk past. She's literally the sort of Pit who would lick someone to death and maul them with affection than anything else (a shot to the jaw by a Pit Bull muzzle doesn't feel good, by the way, haha).

All-in-all, she's really a great little girl, and gorgeous to boot. I've been on the fence since meeting her the first time, and still am to an extent. I was told I'd know what I was looking for when I saw it, and I'm reminding myself that, since I'm looking for a dog I can work, I have to use my head in this decision. As great of a dog as she is, the more I think about it and as I was typing this, I'm beginning to think she's another great dog that just isn't what I'm looking for...she's very sweet, but I'm just not sure I feel that "click"-sort of connection, and I'm not sure she has the work-potential I'm looking for, unfortunately.

Perhaps I'll have a bit of luck in convincing my ma on an ACD-mix...everyone but her thinks one would be perfect for the situation and what we're both looking for.